THE REPORT: 2/21/25
LONNI MONAE, THE 414 PRINCESS
“Young and turnt / Eat 'em up / That’s the meal prep.” There is no shortage of competition for the Milwaukee rap tiara. On “414Princess,” Lonni Monae snatches it with gusto. It’s a vicious Midwest rap tune; locals, play it loud as you curse that recent Khris Middleton trade.
Horse Vision, Tiffi M “Chemicals”
Over the past year or whatever, the Swedish duo Horse Vision have quietly amassed quite the collection of hyper-contemporary pop rock singles. These mofos have the potential to be my favorite Scandinavian choon merchants since The Tough Alliance. I might be getting carried away… Still, their new one with Tiffi M keeps the hot streak. Tip.
Sometimes, it feels hard to keep going. Sometimes, some psycho combo of self-doubt and self-hatred will paralyze my body and leave my mind in a state of panic. I will be in my bed, eating from a bag of expired pretzels that I found on an otherwise barren shelf at a barely functional Rite Aid. That’s when I need this happy hardcore flip of “Eternal Flame” by The Bangles!
Last seen on the blog ripping up a DMX interpolation, New Orleans bounce torchbearer Heaven is back with a project that serves as a reminder of the power that can come from just a couple of samples and a dream—it’s 12 minutes and 51 seconds of Emotional American Energy Music. On “Never Hard,” she plays with an Eminem chorus over a mall punk flip.
The recent EP from Intermission is a fusion of oi!-aware brutishness and triumphant new wave. Surging music. Let’s talk about the long tail of a single song: “New Age” by Blitz. What an anthem! The first time I heard it, I thought it sounded like Andrew W.K.
MIX OF THE WEEK: “Blue Trio Radio w/ Full Body 2” (NTS)
Philly gauzy pop lords Full Body 2 went in here. It’s an excellent hour of smudge and spangle. The band answers listener questions and plays a Future Sound Of London remix of a Prefab Sprout song that I hadn’t heard before. It shmacks hard.